Variance
by Dcsammy24
Summary: Toby Peterson is a Dauntless-born initiate who knows his faction is exactly where he belongs. Nothing could change that. Until she comes. Mariah flips Toby's world upside down. But now he has to make the most important decision of his life- fight for a life he loves, or die becoming who he has always dreamed of being?
1. Chapter 1

A blade whizzed past Toby's face and he caught it mid-flight. It felt cold in his hands, almost unnatural. He turned it over and it fell to the ground with a clang.

"Good. Go again," A low voice barked, and Toby felt goosebumps sweep up his arms. His instructor had always given him the creeps, even in his early days. He would constantly shave his head and laugh hysterically almost like it felt good. Toby never trusted him, and he never planned on doing it.

Blade after blade flew and stuck into the wall behind Toby, who had only managed to snatch three of the seven thrown. A disgrace.

"Toby Peterson! Can you tell me exactly what that was besides a complete and utter failure? Are you _trying_ to make me look bad? Because understand now, I have consequences for that," Toby's instructor Damon glared at him from a ledge. He looked as if anyone within arm's reach would be the next to die.

"Toby? Are you listening? Severe consequences. I won't have any of my students-" Damon's voice was drowned out by the sharp buzz of the dinner bell. He cursed and turned away from Toby, signaling his release. Damon rested his head on the smooth stone wall and looked down at the floor.

Toby breathed out and tucked away his knife. It slid perfectly into his belt, a killer in disguise. 'Last to eat, first to die,' Damon always said. Toby wondered if he would make it into one of those two categories tonight.

Walking through Dauntless headquarters is like walking through a cave of never ending tunnels, loops, and open areas. And right at the center? The Pit. Toby had seen his share of horrific events go on at The Pit, and he avoided it at all costs. He heard loud yelling one night coming from The Pit and the following day, a Dauntless initiate was dead. Toby didn't want to be next.

Tossing his backpack into his bunk, Toby slunk down on his bed. Clothes were strewn across the floor, and he quickly retrieved them. When the last sock was in it's place, Toby slipped on a fresh t-shirt and hustled to the main hall. Dauntless whispered and pointed at Toby, who stood taller in retaliation. He knew they were talking about his failure in knife-throwing practice today, and he wasn't about to pick a fight just yet.

Being born Dauntless you would think you're the toughest. To be completely honest, physically, you are. But just walking around and picking fights was irrational, even we knew that. According to the Candor gossip, you would believe we are maniacs. But what do they know? Their faction is based on truth and almost every word out of their mouth is a lie.

Toby entered the Dining Hall and looked around at the crowd of people flowing to and from tables. It was almost hard to keep track. Each person a different story, a different life, a different goal, but we were all Dauntless at heart. Toby took a step and someone snickered.

"Hey Toby! So I heard about practice today! I heard you caught hmmm three out of- what? Seven? Three out of seven knives? What a new record we have here!" A boy laughed and a few more joined in. Toby felt the hatred in the boy's voice and gave him a glare. A couple Dauntless sneered at him but he kept walking to his destination, not too far away now.

An empty seat at his usual table offered comfort to Toby, and he sat gratefully. His two friends Harley and Brennan smiled at his appearance to the table. A pair of Dauntless walked by snickering at Toby, and Harley glared viciously.

"What _happened_ today, Toby? I can't believe they all think they can treat you like this. You could make any one of them pay in a heartbeat," Harley looked concerned and scooped up some noodles for her plate. Toby could see the look of confusion spread across her delicate face, and he shook his head.

"I got distracted. I was thinking about our aptitude tests coming up. I know I shouldn't be thinking about that, but I couldn't help it. It just doesn't feel right." Toby poured himself some water and looked over at Brennan, who was trying his hardest not to stuff himself with the food on his plate. Brennan was the type of initiate everyone liked. He was average, brown hair and brown eyes. Toby couldn't help but wonder where he might be placed after initiation was over.

"You're The best Dauntless born initiate we currently have. Why are they giving you such a hard time about this? Do they not know you could kill any one of them in approximately twelve seconds?" Brennan laughed at Harley's comment and Toby's mouth twitched a smile. It was true- he was the best in about every category in the Dauntless-born initiate pre-initiation training. Most of the Dauntless still wondered how someone like Toby could be the top fighter in the whole initiation program, but he knew the answer that none of them would ever guess. Strategy. Toby learned quicker than the rest that strategizing against the opponent and using their weakness to your advantage was above strength. But that sort of thinking was looked down upon in Dauntless, so he kept the information to himself. Being the one who topped the charts, most of the initiates feared or envied him, and he knew that his torment today was a weak point for everyone to stab him in the back with. If it weren't for his disgrace in knife throwing earlier, he wouldn't even be questioned.

Harley shoved a hamburger in her mouth and Toby picked up a slice of a cake. Dauntless cake. His favorite.

"Why are these aptitude tests so distracting for you, Toby? Once a Dauntless, always a Dauntless. You will be fine." Toby looked down at his cake and shoved it across his plate. He had worked all day yesterday preparing for The Choosing Ceremony that would take place in two days, and he shouldn't have been distracted then either. Yet he was. Distractions are weakness. So why was he letting this get to him so badly?

"I don't know," Toby answered. "I think I'm just tired, that's all. I might get some sleep early tonight." Brennan looked at Harley who seemed dissatisfied with his answer.

"We all need to be ready for this. I don't know what will be on these tests, but we have to be prepared for anything. I heard a rumor in Erudite that they are going to change up the serum this year. No promises it will be better than before." Harley swore as her finger was crushed by a passing plate and Toby looked around the Hall. Most of the initiates would make it. From then on, an easy life as a Dauntless would greet them smiling with open arms. Toby knew he couldn't pass up an opportunity like that ever. No one- Damon, initiates, no one would get in his way if he could help it. The top of the list was open and calling.

Brennan scooped up a bite of Toby's cake and laughed, mouth full. His brown eyes were lively and glinting. Toby wished he could be as happy as Brennan was at the moment.

"You gonna eat this cake?" Brennan laughed through a mouthful of cake.

"Go ahead," Toby whispered. He pushed up from the table and waved goodbye. Fresh air sounded nice.

"See you at lights out!" Brennan grinned and flicked a little cake at Harley. It stuck in her dirty blonde hair and she punched him playfully in the arm. Toby slipped silently out of the Dining Hall. He didn't want to attract any unwanted torment.

"Hey Toby! I wasn't done talking about your knife throwing! Get back here!" The boy from earlier was chasing Toby at full speed. Toby bolted around the corner and sprinted down the corridor. He dodged instructors and workers ending their day early and heading home, skipping dinner for a chance to see their families.

Suddenly the hall ended and Toby pressed up against the wall. The tormentor was grinning and held two other dauntless initiates at his sides. The cat had caught the mouse.

"So how exactly can our top fighter miss four knives? He can't. Or else he isn't our top fighter anymore."

Toby sidestepped quickly and realization hit him like a train. _I'm at The Pit!_ His mind screamed for him to bolt. Toby promised himself he wouldn't dare come here again. But here he was, about to become that boy from months ago. Pebbles toppled over the edge of The Pit as the boys cornered him. The lead initiate carried a small knife about the size of a pencil.

"Time's up. Your reign at the top is over, and now its time for a new king of the list." The boy clicked open his knife and took aim.

_Swish!_

The knife sailed through the air and landed perfectly in Toby's grasp. The boy looked shocked and backed up a step.

"Yeah, I think knife throwing practice actually does come in handy every once in a while," The boy yelled out in rage and jumped at Toby. Barely catching the hem of Toby's shirt, he turned and struck out again.

"The top of the list doesn't belong to you, Peterson!" The boy screamed in fury and took one last jab at Toby.

Who would have known it would be his last.

The boy screamed as he careened over The Pit's edge and was swallowed up by darkness. In a few seconds the last of his voice faded away. The other two who had followed their leader turned tail and escaped. They followed the corridor until their footsteps were all that was left.

Toby stared over the edge of The Pit in horror. Gone. Forever. He had killed an initiate.

And now all that was left was a ghost of his memory.


	2. Chapter 2

Toby rubbed his eyes and looked up at the celing. His back cramped from his uncomfortable new bed, and his mind ached from what he had witnessed.

_I killed an initiate,_ Toby shook the thought out of his head. It was no use beating himself up over something he didn't intend on doing. No one knew it happened because of him. No one knew... yet.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor and Toby sat up. Before he knew what he was doing, his feet slid over the edge of his metal bed and followed the sound. Various other dauntless-born initiates slept soundly in the cots surrounding Toby's, oblivious to the fact that they were resting next to a killer. Someone snored and rolled over, and Toby stopped dead in his tracks. Being up this late was a strict offence, and anyone would kill to get famous Toby Peterson in trouble.

"Toby?" A voice whispered, and Toby swung around. Harley yawned and sat up in her bed. Her dirty blonde hair was frizzed and she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Toby what are you doing up so late?" Harley stumbled out of her bed and pulled a sweatshirt over her head.

"Nothing. I was just clearing my head, that's all." Toby looked around and motioned for Harley to go back to sleep. She looked annoyed and took another step forward. The footsteps stopped.

"Toby Peterson do not tell me what to do. You're not any better than I am!" Harley raised her voice. "What has been going on with you lately? You think you're the boss of everyone now that you are at the top of the pre-initiation list!" Toby frantically looked around and tried to silence Harley, who pushed his hand away.

"No! stop it! Stop trying to control me! I'm done dealing with you telling me what to do all the time, Toby! And so is Brennan!" Harley turned around and ran out the other end of the sleeping room, waking a few initiates with her hurried footsteps. Toby sighed and kept walking in the direction the footsteps had come from. His mind was frantically trying to make sense of the evening, and nothing was working. Each detail lead to the death of that boy who had tried to kill him. They only people who knew were...

"The other two who were at The Pit!" Toby whispered to himself. He had to find out who the boy was that tried to knife him. Toby silently thanked Damon for the knife throwing and catching lessons.

Flames lit the dark dauntless halls, beacons to the wanderers. Toby considered himself experienced at Dauntless, but he had never managed to figure out where each of the halls would lead. Each of them could conceal anything, a weapons armory, a training center, or just a bathroom. But they could lead somewhere even darker than Toby could ever imagine.

Hushed voices echoed softly down the ice cold corridor and Toby pressed his back up against the stones. They chilled his spine and made him shiver, but he kept moving along. The whispers were close, and his mind told him to press onward.

"-which makes no sense. A solution to the problem would be impossible. We just need to keep throwing more and more in the general direction and hope for the best. How can you rationalize something like this at all?" A deep husky voice questioned into the night. Toby wondered about the man's inquiry.

"We can do our best. Even with the tests being tomorrow you never know what might happen. We need to plan for the initiates that will be here soon." A man's voice answered the other.

"But what about the situation? He is not to be trusted, that man. I can't help but feel that he is trying to manipulate us! Are you not going to do anything about this?" A third voice piped up and was answered by a chuckle from the first voice.

"He is not our problem. At least not for now. Lets just watch and see how our initiates play out and in the end, one might do our job for us."

"What about the boy at the top of the list? He could be quite helpful, especially after his display at The Pit today. A secret like that could get him thrown out of Dauntless for good. That's what we want, right?" The man sounded hopeful and Toby shivered. They had to be talking about him. He wouldn't ever be able to shake what had happened at The Pit unless he felt the need to get himself thrown out of Dauntless forever.

"Toby Peterson is a disgrace to our faction, I agree. I knew that boy was trouble since the day his mother showed me his face. But we can't rid him of his dauntless identification just yet. I have a plan, and I think it will help us with the more important issue at hand. But once this is all over, what I wouldn't do to get that careless, heartless, mistake of a Dauntless thrown out of this lovely faction forever..." Toby's eyes grew wide and he bolted down the hallway. Rocks flew against the wall and footsteps thundered behind him.

"Get them!" Toby didn't dare to look behind him. The footsteps rapidly approached and Toby sprinted faster than ever before. His legs carried him faster than the speed of sound.

A side corridor provided a quick getaway from his pursuers. Toby flung himself into the shadows and pressed up against the stone cold wall. Each set of footsteps continued past Toby's hiding place and he breathed out. Luckily he knew his way back to the initiate sleeping area, but his mind stayed aware of his surroundings. Each shadow was the initiates he had heard about to attack him.

Toby slunk down in his scratchy bed and closed his eyes. Who were those initiates and why did they want him dead?

No one knew about the killing except for the two at The Pit who had escaped. But neither of them sounded like the initiates that had been talking about Toby. There had been more witnesses than Toby had thought. He groaned and rolled onto his stomach. He could become factionless from information that these mystery initiates had.

Someone wanted him dead. And they were going to get what they wanted even if they had to put up a fight for it. But he was safe for now. Or at least Toby hoped so.

**_A/N: Hey one of my very few readers! Sorry about my really short update, but between school and soccer practice, I barely have time to update! Please stick with me I might set up a day that I will update soon. I appreciate likes and reviews, it really helps. Hope you like my story!_**


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